Tubular lantern



' (No Model.)

0. J. HIGGINS.

TUBULAR LANTERN. No. 392,430. Patented Nov. 6, 1888.

UNITED STATES PATENT CHARLES J. HIGGINS, OF HALLOWELL, MAINE.

TUBULAR LANTERN.

SPECIFICATION forming part; of Letters Patent No. 392,430, datedNovember 6, 1888.

Application filed April '26, 1888. Serial No. 271,874.

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES J. HIGGINS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hal.- lowell, in'the county of Kennebec and State of Maine,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tubular Lanterns;and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention herein disclosed consists of details of constructionwhereby the coneplate and burner of a tubular lantern may be heldsecurely in position, and yet capable of ready detachment, as will behereinafter more fully described, and indicated in the claims.

Figure 1 is a View in elevation of a tubular lantern, parts beingbrokenaway to show the construction of the air-chamber. Fig. 2 is a Viewof the general form of construction heretofore used. Fig. 3 shows theposition of the wick-raising shaft while the burner is being attaehcd.

A represents a lantern, having the usual tubes, B, conveying air to anair-chamber be: neath the cone-plate. This air-chamber is formed by acylinder of sheet metal, 0, slotted at its upper edge, and having nearthe same edge an exterior bead, c, which extends substantially aroundthe cylinder. This cylinder is covered by a plate, D, carrying the coneB, and having a downwardly-projecting flange, 11, with a slotted edgefitting over the cylinder, and having an internal groove, 41, extendingsubstantially around it, which groove engages with the head on thecylinder and holds the cone-plate in position.

Heretofore there has been constructed a cylinder and cone-plate as in mydevice, which were held in position relatively to each other bydiametrically-opposite projections or enlargements on the one andcorresponding depressions in the other. The objection to this means ofuniting the cylinder and cone-plate is that the projections anddepressions, being of small extent, must necessarily be so long anddeep, respectively, (in order to firmly secure the burner,) that theplate is not easily removable. By extending the groove and beadsubstantially around the plate and cylinder and slotting the edges ofone or both, as at c and cl, said groove and bead may be very (Nomodel.)

slight, and yet operate to effectively prevent displacement of thecone-plate, and at the same time enable the operator to easily removeit.

' In the construction of theburner, cone-plate, and cylinder heretoforeused it has also been necessary (to keep the burner in its proper position) to provide said burner with a foraminous skirt or cone, H, Fig.2, the upper edge of which should form a bearing with the under side ofthe cone-plate D. This requires great nicety of construction in themanufacture of the parts, (for if the skirt were too high the cone couldnot shut down, while if too low the burner would be loose and becomedisplaced,) and therefore added to the cost of the whole, and alsocaused the position of the cone and burner to be dependent upon eachother, so that not only a nice adjustment of them was necessary whenthey were to be used, but also the removal of the cone at any time leftthe burner free, so that it was in danger of falling out, and, iflighted, of causing a conflagration. In my construction, however, theforaminous skirt H, Fig. 2, is unnecessary, and therefore removed, andthe burner and cone-plate are each secured independently of the other,thereby cheapening the cost of manufacture, making the lantern safer inuse, and avoiding such nice adjustment of the parts. The cylinder andcone-plate are provided with coincident slots or notches c and d,through which passes the wick-raising shaft E of the burner E.

Heretofore it has been impossible to screw the burner into the top ofthe reservoir, for the reason that the wick-raising shaft lying in thenotches prevented the turning of the burner. In order to obviate thisdifficulty and to pen mit the burner to be securely fastened inposition, I make the wick'raising shaft in two parts, E being the mainpart, which carries the ordinary wick-raising wheels, and E a hingedextension of the shaft, which maybe turned into the position shown indotted lines, Fig. 3, while the burner is being screwed into place,after which it is returned to its normal position, in the notches, asshown by full lines. The joint of the shaft is formed at a point withinthe air-chamber, and said joint thereby is not only protected, but alsoa hearing for the jointed shaft is provided at the point where saidshaft passes through the wall of the air-chamber.

It will thus be seen that not only is the burner held firmly in positionand in its proper relation to the cone, but also that the cone itselfisalways held in its proper position with respect to the perforation inthe foraminonsplate G, which carries the globe F, which plate is itselfguided, when raised or lowered, by the tubes 13; also, that theforaminous plate, the cone, and the burner are independently supportedand held in position and easily detachable when it becomes necessary toremove them.

The bead and groove, to which reference has been made, obviate thedanger that the cone plate and cone may be depressed at one side, andthus throw the slot of the cone out of coincidence with the burner-tube.A similar difficulty is obviated by the construction which permits thesecuring of the burner firmly in position.

The use of the bead and groove dispenses with the necessity of formingthe cone-plate, as heretofore, with a shoulder to bear upon the upperedge ofthe cylinder.

Having fully described my invention, what Ielaim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, lS-

1. In a tubular lantern, ajointed wiek-rais ing shaft, in combinationwith and having its joint inside the walls of the air-chamber, saidwalls being slotted.

2. In a tubular lantern, a burner-cone having a bead near its loweredge, in combination with the walls of the air-chamber, said airchamberwalls being also beaded near their upper edge, said cone having a notchor slot in its lower edge.

3. In a tubular lantern, a burner-cone having a bead near its loweredge, in combination with the walls of the air-chamber, said airchamberwalls being also beaded near their upper edge, said cone having a notchor slot in its lower edge, and said air-chamber wall being notched orslotted in its upper edge.

4;. In a tubular lantern, a screw-burner and ajointed wick-raisingshaft, in combination with an air-chamber composed ofthe top cone with aslot in itslower edge, and the air-chamber wall with a slot near itsupper edge, for receiving and supporting said shaft and inclosing thejoint thereof.

5. In a tubular lantern, a jointed wick-raising shaft having its jointinclosed and supported in operative position by the shell incasing it.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES J. HIGGINS.

\Vitnesses:

L. I. ONEAL, A. 1. Srnwnm).

